BMW Team PTG: 4 cars in top 10 at Laguna Seca Speed GT

BMW Team PTG
Notes and Quotes
SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT Championship - Round 8
Practice
Laguna Seca Raceway
Monterey, Calif.
Friday, Sept. 5, 2003
Race Date: Sunday, Sept. 7, 2003

Laguna Seca Friday Practice: Four BMW M3s in top 10; Bryce Miller second
fastest

In the combined results following today's two 20-minute practice sessions
for Sunday's Round 8 of the SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT Championship at Laguna
Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., the five BMW M3s of BMW Team PTG stand in
good position with four cars in the top 10.

Speed GT rookie and PTG newcomer Bryce Miller was second quick (1:33.743)
around the 2.238-mile circuit in the No. 81 PTG M3, completing only his
second day ever on the 11-turn circuit.

Bill Auberlen was third quickest overall with a time of 1:33.998, set in the
morning session. Boris Said and Hans Stuck improved their morning times for
fifth (1:34.265) and seventh (1:34.360) fastest. Justin Marks was 11th
(1:35.188).

BMW leads the Speed GT Manufacturer's Championship by eight points over Audi
and 15 points over Porsche. Bill Auberlen leads the Speed GT Driver's
Championship by 18 points over Phil McClure (Corvette) and 21 over Randy
Pobst (Audi).

The morning's practice session saw all five M3s in the top 10 with Auberlen
second (1:33.998), Said fifth (1:34.782), Stuck seventh (1:34.860), Marks
ninth (1:35.188) and Miller tenth (1:35.279)

A single 20-minute qualifying session is scheduled for 10:55 a.m. tomorrow.
The 50-minute, standing-start Speed GT race is scheduled to start at 3:05
p.m. Sunday.

BILL AUBERLEN, NO. 7 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (fourth):
"Simply said, with its current setup, the M3 is as good as it is going to
get today. Tonight comes more hard work after we review the data."

BRYCE MILLER, NO. 81 PTG M3 (second):
"We started out the final session on tires we came here with as there was no
sense in using new tires when I had to learn the track. We put on stickers
(new tires) about five laps in and they transformed my M3. The setup now
feels quite different especially under braking. Most of the understeer is
gone. Maybe a bit of fine tuning is in order before qualifying, but I am
quite happy with where we are right now."

BORIS SAID NO. 6 BMW TEAM PTG (fifth):
"My M3 is getting better. It will be difficult to win with the added weight,
so I am sure a lot of people may believe that we will be racing for second
or third on Sunday. Of course, second or third will help us win the
championship, but PTG always comes to win."

HANS STUCK, NO.8 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (seventh):
"I think that all of our changes today came to a good conclusion and we are
ready for both qualifying and the race. Many of our competitors are faster
than us on the straights and we are suffering under braking with the
additional weight (150 pounds) we must now carry. It will be essential to
start as close to the front as we can so qualifying will be important."

JUSTIN MARKS, NO. 80 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (11th):
"We are making progress and I think we have a good setup for both qualifying
and the race. Qualifying is in the morning and the race is in the afternoon
and I think we are ready for both. Today's last session gave a good
simulation of the probable race conditions and the M3 felt good on the older
tires we ran."